Stuckup Beauty, Reformed Beast
by Raberba girl
Summary: Akito, struggling to become a better person, is sick of being cooped up in the Estate. Motoko has a fight with her mother and storms out in a rage. When these two meet, is it possible for an unlikely romance to blossom? Het pairing.
1. Part 1: Akito

Stuck-up Beauty, Reformed Beast

A Fruits Basket fanfic by Raberba girl

Author's Note: While musing on the fact that Motoko loves Yuki and Akito looks like Yuki, I thought it would be interesting to write a romance fic between Akito and Motoko (of all people). Unfortunately, after I started writing this story, chapter 97 of the manga was published. However, I saw no reason to change my ideas for this fic just because Natsuki Takaya decided to throw us all for a loop. **Please don't leave me reviews about Akito's Secret, because I already know.** Enjoy the fic!

**Part 1 (Akito)**

Kyo told me that I ought to wear looser clothes when I go out, since the body-hugging things I usually favor only make me look more sickly. _"You look more like a starved rat than a human,"_ is how he worded it, I believe. Since I can't wear my robes outside and still be inconspicuous, there are not many appealing options left.

I give the jeans a dubious look, but pull them on nonetheless. The coarse feel of them against my skin irritates me, but I would rather go out in a surly mood than stay at home and rot from inactivity. Time was when I'd be perfectly content to laze around at home - I was going to die anyway, so what was the point of doing anything?

But now I am always restless. _Life_ calls to me, demanding that I participate. I can't stand doing nothing; I have to make plans and fill up my future, I have to find answers and think up more questions. I have to work. I hate strengthening my body, but there's something fascinating about having a goal - and the rewards continue to astound me. Strengthening my attitude is even harder - sometimes I'd rather do hundreds of sit-ups than be nice to someone when I'm in a bad mood.

But that has its rewards as well. Momiji and Kisa already love me, though it's _really_ embarrassing if I cry when Kisa brings me a gift or a story or a meal. And Hatori seems to have developed a sense of humor - unless, of course, it was already there and he was just too afraid to let me see it.

Some day I hope Yuki will be able to forgive me. That's the real reason I try as hard as I do. I encourage and compliment and smile at people for his sake, because nothing else could motivate me to go against the cruel nature I have nursed for so long.

This shirt-- I swear, it's _wafting_, as if there's a breeze. The hesitant way it touches me is annoying, like frightened fingers that only caress me out of pity. I have been handled that way by too many people... I angrily hug my arms around myself, pressing the shirt closer. It's one of those white flimsy things like pop stars wear, but it was the only thing I could find on short notice.

I hear footsteps approaching.

Quickly, I snatch up my robes and wrap myself in them, fling myself down on the porch, and pretend to be amusing myself by ripping out grass.

The door slides open. Hatori enters softly. "Akito? How are you feeling?"

"Lousy," I grumble, to get him to go away. Then I remember that I'm supposed to be making an effort, and if I'm _too_ surly he'll just stay longer and try to make me act civil. "I'm just...not feeling up to doing much," I say, trying to sound strained and polite. Convince him that I'm in a bad mood but still trying to be nice. Oh, wait...those are my actual feelings. Never mind.

"What are you planning to do today?"

"I dunno. I was thinking I could look after the garden a bit, maybe try to cook something." I hate that stupid therapy-garden. It's messy work, with dirt and bugs and sun everywhere, yet it never fails to surprise me how pleased I feel when the green things I plant start poking up out of the soil.

"You going to try that last recipe Tohru gave you?"

"Yeah. Though her stuff always tastes better."

"At least the last couple of times you managed not to burn the rice."

"Shut up." There's a moment of silence during which Hatori does not go away, and I realize that he's waiting for me to get up and do something.

I lay my head down on my arms. "I'm really tired, though, Hatori. I wanted to take a nap first."

He pauses, probably trying to gauge whether I'm really tired or am just trying to worm my way out of having to muck about in the garden. Then, "All right, Akito. I'll come back in an hour or so."

"Thanks, Ha'ri," I mumble sleepily. People like it when I use nicknames. It seems to make them think I'm loosening up.

I wait until the door slides shut again and the sound of his footsteps fades. Then I get up and shed the robes. I am going out today, alone. I am sick of being accompanied everywhere I go, as if I'm a six-year-old.

-----------------------

There are pros and cons to going outside.

I hate the press of people, the noise, the smell, the feeling that I'm drowning in an ocean of humanity. I hate the way people look at me. At the Estate, everyone treats me with respect; they are quiet, and they are attuned to me. Out here, people just see me as a shifty-eyed, graceful waif with a pretty face. It's like they think they have the right to admire my looks, guess my thoughts, and criticize me.

Yet there's something thrilling about it all, too. Here's me, sick little Akito, tossed out into the chaotic mess that my fellow man experiences every day. There are so many sights to enthrall me, so many customs that beckon me to learn them. So many faces to read.

It has become a new game of mine. I figured out how to play when I realized how to turn the tables on the people who always stare at me. I look at a person, I see the clothes they wear and the way they walk and the expression on their face, and in my mind I decide on their personality. He wears sunglasses, he must be a hoodlum. She smiles, she must be kind. It is always amusing - especially when, for example, the boy in sunglasses stops and calls affectionately over his shoulder for his little sister to catch up; or when the smiling girl shouts filthy words at a kid who accidentally bumps into her.

After a while, the sun starts getting to me. My body is filmy with sweat, and my skin is tingling and itchy, threatening to burn in earnest if I stay outside much longer. I duck into a nearby building, seeking relief.

What have I stepped into? Crazy dark place filled with flashing colored lights. Smell of people who do this all day for fun and aren't too terribly interested in showers.

Arcade of some kind.

I stand off to the side for a while, trying to get used to the place. Then I wander around, finding everything disgusting, but fascinating. People are hypnotized by screens, their fingers punching buttons furiously. I stop here and there to watch: fighting games, racing games, games in which the sole object seems to be to shoot as many people and/or aliens as possible. Fun.

I watch longest at the corner with the, what are they called, DDR machines. Dance Dance Revolution. More like Stomp-in-Place Revolution. Idiotic. But strangely captivating. I am even developing a stupid desire to have a go at it myself.

'_Don't even think about it, Aki,'_ I tell myself. _'You'd probably end up puking all over your opponent, or gasping for breath on the floor.'_ I watch a little while longer. Then I think, _'Would I, really?'_ Much as my health has improved over the last couple of years, I know I will never be a physically strong person. My body is just too messed up. But still...I _have_ come a long way. I can always stop if this DDR thing becomes too much for me.

"So how 'bout it, gorgeous. Think you can beat me?"

I look up in annoyance. A beautiful, audacious girl is standing next to me, looking right at me. My eyes search the room behind her, and sure enough, there are the rest of her friends, watching us and giggling.

'_Be nice, Aki,'_ I tell myself. I say to her, "I doubt it. I've never played before," instead of, 'You are annoying, and I would like to smash a vase into your eye.'

She gives me an incredulous look. "Come on. You've never played? You look like the kind of guy who'd be great at this kind of thing."

'_Huh. Wonder why you think that. Perhaps because you're judging me when you don't know me at all, the way everyone else seems to enjoy doing.'_

"Would you even be talking to me if my eyes weren't like twin pools of midnight, and my skin wasn't like a film of snow, and my hair wasn't like a downy fall of velvet?"

She gives me a look like I'm crazy. Understandable, I suppose.

"Speaking of hair," she says, "can I touch it?"

Outrage takes my breath away, so that there is a pause before I can answer. "No."

She reaches up anyway, and runs her fingers through it. I don't like how nice it feels.

She smiles. "Lovely. Your girlfriend must do that every time she sees you."

"And of course, because I have the looks of an angel, I must have a girlfriend."

She cocks an eyebrow at me. "You really have a thing against people who try to judge you."

"No kidding. Go away." This is very kind and tactful for me.

She tosses her hair. "The more I talk to you, the more interesting you get. I haven't given up on you."

She leaves, thankfully.

And fortunately, I've lost my nerve to play DDR.

I wander around a bit more. The arcade turns out to be only part of the building; the other half is dedicated to selling video games, fantasy books, and trading cards. I pick up a book at random and flip through it. Some _shojo_ manga about a magical girl. Main character transforming, main character blasting a monster, main character getting seduced by the villain...hm, interestingly graphic...main character angsting to her friends about it afterward, main character messily sprouting bat-wings, cliffhanger ending with the main character discovering that there is something called a "demon-seed" implanted in her body.

I put the book back on the shelf in disgust.

-----------------------

I emerge from the arcade, and in the daylight I suddenly realize that I'm tired. The city-noises outside are almost soothing, after I've been so long among the arcade's buzzes, beeps, and pounding music. After the darkness, the sun seems demanding.

I buy some food and walk around eating it. I long for the meals I usually have at home, which are tailor-made to fit my taste, but it's somewhat interesting to see how much of this stuff I can get down before I feel like throwing up. All of it, as it turns out. Hatori will be pleased. That is, once he stops raging at me for going out unescorted.

I sit down on a bench next to a playground. I'm exhausted. My eyes sting with sleepiness, my legs ache from walking, and my whole body feels limp and half-numb from the heat. I suppose it's not so very hot outside, but I'm more sensitive to temperature than most people.

I watch the children playing. I envy them a little, those young healthy creatures, able to run around and scream and laugh so effortlessly. Look, that one fell down and hurt herself. She cries, but then her mother comes over. Mommy looks at the scrape, applies a Band-Aid that she handy-dandily had in her purse, kisses it, then sends the little girl off to play again, laughing and good as new.

When I was her age, I would have been bruised for weeks.

Three little boys seem to be arguing. One of them catches sight of me. He runs over and says, very impatient and business-like, "Hey, can you be base?" He's wearing a scruffy blue hat.

"What are you talking about?" I say.

"We need a _base_, mister. Tomozaki-kun says it has to be a grown-up, and I don't want to use Mom 'cause she'll yell at me."

"Look, you little brat, if you think I'm just going to sit here and let you use me in some - some _game_--"

The disgusted look on his face stops me. "Whatever. You look like a girl, I don't wanna play with a wuss like you."

Rage sends me towering to my feet. His eyes widen as he looks at me, then he suddenly shrieks and flees. I run after him, and the kid's friends yell and scatter. I swoop about, lunging for them, but they always swerve just out of my reach. _'I've always _HATED_ these games,'_ I think fiercely, _'I can never--'_

I come to an astonished halt. I realize that the boys have not been fleeing, exactly. They have been running almost in circles around me, dashing here and there and keeping their eyes on me while they...laugh. They're laughing? Do they think I'm playing with them?

"What's up, pretty-boy?" the kid with the blue hat taunts. His eyes are gleaming with laughter. "Can't keep up? You run like a girl, too."

"You dare speak to me like that--" I snatch at him, intending to grab a handful of his hair, but he ducks out of my grasp. My hand closes around his shoulder instead, but not tightly enough to keep hold of him.

"You moron!" one of the other boys screeches.

I don't like being called a moron. But before I can draw blood, Blue Hat makes a noise like "Argh!" He slaps his hand over his face in frustration, and I realize that _he's_ the one they were referring to, not me. Apparently now that I touched him, he's "It" or whatever they call it. Blue Hat looks straight into my eyes, and...

...I run.

He chases me, and my shoulders hunch up with anticipation at the thought of being caught. I whirl and dart in another direction, and I find myself screaming with a kind of furious laughter. I've never felt like this before - all at once full of fear and excitement, happiness and tension. So _this_ is why people think these games are fun. I never understood that before.

I realize that I'm the slowest, therefore the easiest target; he'll catch me any minute. I turn to cross paths with the boy they called Tomozaki. He has slowed to a jog, because Blue Hat was concentrating on me. Tomozaki, startled, lurches into a full run, but it's too late; Blue Hat seizes his chance and swerves to grab him. They fall to the ground, yelling, then disentangle themselves and start running again.

Something's wrong. My balance is off as I run, and I fall hard to my knees. I wince at the pain, knowing that it will hurt for days. I bruise so _easily_, it's frustrating.

An instant later, I have forgotten my knees. I double over, clutching my chest and fighting for breath. It _hurts_. I need to catch my breath, but every inhalation feels like I'm taking in gravel instead of air.

"Hey, girly! Come _on_!" They skid to a stop around me, and one of them shakes my shoulder. The noise I can't help making in response to this is appalling.

"Hey!" They sound worried now. "Are you having a heart attack or something?"

I try to answer, but I can't form words and it only gives them a worse impression.

"Mom! Mom!" Blue Hat pounds away, leaving the other two to dither around me.

I cough into my hand. The gunk is tinged with blood and leaves a sour taste in my mouth.

"Whoa!"

"Cool!"

"You're really sick, aren't you?"

They sound almost delighted about it.

"Let me see!" They crowd around my hand and stare, awed, at the mess I have coughed into it. They watch eagerly as I cough some more, but to their disappointment, nothing else is produced, other than a fleck of spit at the corner of my mouth.

Blue Hat returns with a woman. She crouches down beside me, rubbing my back and asking me loudly and firmly what's wrong.

"Just...need to catch my breath," I manage. The pain has lessened, I'll be fine in a few minutes.

"Mrs. Ishida, _look_!" They direct her attention to my hand.

"Oh, _boys_! That's nasty, don't touch it! Here, sweetheart, let me get rid of that for you." She pulls out a tissue and cleans off my hand. "There. Kohaku, go fetch one of the extra water bottles from my bag."

Mrs. What's-Her-Name pats my shoulder and assures me, "It will be all right, dear."

I can't help laughing softly. This is crazy. Compared to how sick I _can_ get, this is nothing, yet everyone's acting like I'm dying. Though it's kind of nice, the way this woman is taking care of me. Hatori usually has this patient, exasperated air of, _'Great, Akito strikes again. I wonder if he's doing it on purpose?'_ and everyone else tiptoes around me like I'm a mine that's going to blow up if they touch me directly. This woman treats me like she would treat her own child.

The pain in my chest has faded to an ache (it will disappear once my heart rate returns to normal), and now my knees are bothering me more than anything. They have that weightless tingly feeling that means they are going to hurt a lot if I dare to move them.

"I'm all right," I say, embarrassed. I try to get up, but I have to do it slowly and awkwardly, because the soon-to-be-bruises are throbbing.

"Oh no, dear," Mrs. Ishi-whatever says firmly, misunderstanding my awkwardness. She pulls me back down. "You're injured, we'll have to get you to a doctor."

"I'm _fine_," I insist, but then I start coughing again. Wonderful.

Kohaku, the one with the blue hat, runs up with some water. "I got it!"

"Here, honey, drink this," his mother says encouragingly.

"I'm fine," I say again, but I'm starting to recognize defeat when I see it. I take a few cautious sips, and wipe my mouth.

"Are you okay?" the boys want to know. "Do you have cancer or something? Are you gonna die? Your face is all white. Sorry for making you run, girly-boy, I didn't know you'd _collapse_ like that."

"Kohaku! Tomozaki! Shizo!"

"Sorry, Mom."

"Sorry, Mrs. Ishida."

"I'm FINE." I remember just in time, "And...thank you." I get up quickly, ignoring the bruises and hoping that the woman will believe I have recovered.

"Sorry for almost killing you, gir-- uh, mister."

"You okay now, mister?"

"I'M FINE!" I scream at them. The woman looks shocked, and the boys' eyes are wide. I stare at them for a moment, wishing I could have held my temper for just a little longer. I muster up as captivating a smile as I can manage at the moment, and add, "Really, I am."

Tomozaki punches me gently on the arm, and Kohaku holds up his hand. I look at him, confused.

"Geez, you don't know anything," he says in exasperation. He pulls out my hand and slaps it.

"Ow!"

They laugh, not sounding very friendly. "You really are a wuss," Shizo mutters. I yank him close and roughly tousle his hair.

"Call me that again and I'll rip your nose off."

They seem to find that hilarious. I smile at them, thank the woman and then walk away, trying not to visibly hobble.

I have never been so confused in my entire life.

_to be continued..._

A/N: Akito refused to cooperate with me in this fic. He insisted on being very OOC, and had a grand old time making fun of himself. He's perfectly willing to be good or evil for me, but he only laughs and goes on to do his own thing when I try to make him transitional.


	2. Part 2: Motoko

_Stuck-up Beauty, Reformed Beast_, by Raberba girl

**Part 2 (Motoko)**

I storm out of the house, screaming to my hag of a mother that everything is her fault. The door slams shut before I can hear her reply - which is a good thing, since one more word from her would have made me explode with rage.

I stampede down the street, not really knowing where I am going, and certainly not caring. I am so, so furious. I _hate_ talking to my mother, and we always seem to get into fights over the stupidest things. This time it was because she found out that my grades are dropping. Not a _lot_, mind you, but they're not top scores anymore.

Sometimes I wonder why I even bother to come back on vacations. The best thing about college is that Mother _isn't there_.

I walk/stomp for a while, trying to work off some of my anger. I note vaguely that this is more or less the same route I used to take to my old high school.

I slam to a stop when I see a vendor selling ice cream. No. No, Motoko, don't you dare, you _know_ how hard you work to keep this figure. No, no, no, no...

The word is still chanting through my head, even as I step ever closer to the vendor.

"Hello, ma'am. How may I help you?"

He's so bright, so happy, so expectant, this evil seller of cow's-milk-and-cream.

"Strawberry," I snap at him. "Hurry up! I want to kill something."

Oops. That last statement slipped out without permission.

The man looks startled, but then smiles bravely and dishes up a cone. I hurl some money and yell at him to "Keep the" un-ladylike word "change." Then I march away, savagely licking at the ice-cold creaminess.

The first few tastes are wonderful. Lovely sugary ice, sliding over my tongue and down my throat. But then my pleasure evaporates, along with my anger. My steps turn slow and plodding.

I've reached the school. _'Why not?'_ I think, and slowly make my way toward it. I enter the familiar courtyard, my eyes softening as they sweep over the well-known arrangement of trees and benches. The main building looms up over me, the clock staring out at the top like a face. I remember this place so well.

I sit down on a bench and cry, my half-finished ice cream still held in one hand.

_to be continued..._


	3. Part 3: Akito

_Stuck-up Beauty, Reformed Beast_, by Raberba girl

**Part 3 (Akito)**

This keeps happening today. I'll wander around, I'll get tired, I'll somehow get involved in a strenuous activity, I'll forget I'm tired, and then after a while I'll realize that I'm more tired than ever.

I feel like I'm going to collapse if I don't find somewhere to sleep soon.

And I think I'm lost. Why didn't anyone _tell_ me that it was a bad idea to go out alone? And while I'm at it, why don't I ever pay enough attention when I _do_ go out? I just go tra-la-lalling on my way, enjoying the scenery and letting others deal with directions.

A bit of green in the near-distance catches my eye. Grass? Oh well, it's better than concrete. At least I'll be able to sit down for a while, and gather my strength. I make myself walk just a little farther. Oh, a courtyard. School courtyard. Looks vaguely familiar, but I don't really care about placing it at the moment. I just want to sleep. Ah, look, a nice shady tree; I'll just sit under that.

My legs fold under me sooner than I expected them to, and I hit the ground harder than I would have liked. I lean against the trunk for a moment, but the ground calls to me...look, I'm sliding, going down...

Ah. Very uncomfortable, but very nice at the same time. I lie on the ground, with sleepiness hanging so thickly around me that I don't care about my awkward position, the itchiness of the grass, or the tiny insect that has just landed on my neck and is probably sucking up infinitesimal amounts of my blood. I am content to remain unmoving. My eyes drag blissfully closed.

I don't know how long I slept, probably just a few minutes, but I wake up to the sound of someone crying. I try to open my eyes, but they seem to be stuck. I sit up and rub at my eyes until I can open them fully.

A girl is sitting on a bench not far from me, crying quietly. She's pretty. Very long hair, red. I like redheads. I drag myself to my feet, which is harder than sitting up was. I amble over to her, noting as I get closer that she's holding something drippy and interesting-looking in her left hand. Ice cream, they call it? Momiji made me eat some once or twice. Not bad stuff, actually, if a little too sweet.

"Hey," I say, "give me some of that."

She jerks and looks up at me, obviously startled. Then she keeps looking at me, and her eyes are going wide, and so is her mouth, and she's forgotten that she's supposed to be crying.

Wonderful. Another dunce who's fallen in love with my looks.

Sometimes I hate having silk-hair and velvet-eyes and creamy skin. And I mean, come on; does anyone ever think how I _got_ that complexion? Anyone ever realize that that particular shade and texture is not exactly a sign of good health?

"Are you deaf or something?" Better to break her image of perfection as soon as possible. "That looks good, let me try some." I pluck the ice cream out of her hand and start eating it.

"Yuki," the girl whispers.

Ice cream bubbles back up my throat the wrong way, and I choke. When I've got myself under control again, my thoughts have cleared as well. She can't possibly be referring to _my_ Yuki.

"Nope. Name's Sohma," I say, taking another nonchalant lick. I think I am going to get addicted to this stuff. Better not let Momiji know. Or Shigure, he'll tease me without mercy. Or Hatori, he'll give me that look that always sends Shigure and Ayame into hysterics when they see it.

"Yuki Sohma?!" She's staring at me like I'm her greatest nightmare and her most beautiful dream come to life. "Is it really you? You've...you've changed, but...you're still as-- wonderful as ever." Her voice has dropped to a whisper.

I swallow the last of the ice cream and stare at her. Yuki Sohma. So she _did_ mean my Yuki. "My name is Akito Sohma. Who are you?"

"S-Sohma? Are you...related?"

This conversation is irritating me even more than the insect bite on my neck. I reach up to scratch it, and I say, "Yuki Sohma is my cousin." Please find where you dropped your brain and put it back in your head where it belongs, girl. The only reason I am still talking to you is because I want to know how you know Yuki.

"Oh."

Why is she staring at me like that? It has to be more than just my looks - her eyes have a haunted look in them.

I sigh and sit down next to her on the stone bench. I can't help shifting uncomfortably; my butt's too bony, and I'm used to cushions. "So, how do you know Yuki?" I ask straight out.

She blushes. "Oh, we used to go to school together. This school, in fact." She gestures vaguely at the building.

It suddenly hits me. _This_ is Yuki's old school, the co-ed one. No wonder it seemed familiar: I've been here before, once.

"I've been here before, once," I say conversationally. I feel rather proud of myself, both for remembering to make polite conversation and for thinking up such a statement so quickly on my own.

"Oh, really?" she says politely. Though she's still blushing, I think she is recovering from whatever shock I gave her. Which reminds me.

"Sorry for eating your ice cream."

She shakes her head, looking flustered. "N-no, that's all right. I shouldn't have been eating it anyway, I'll get fat."

I give her a look out of the corner of my eye. "You're a stick. I wish _I_ could get fat." Even though I've been eating a lot more than I used to, I never seem to gain much weight. It worries Hatori. Worries me, too, though I'd never admit it out loud.

"You?" she bursts out. What is with this girl and blushing? Her face looks like a fairly attractive tomato.

"Yeah, me. I'm too skinny. Look." I push up my annoying floaty sleeve and show her my arm. My wrist is smaller around than hers, and you can make out the shape of my veins and bones. Then I push up my sleeve further and flex, showing her the tiny little glob of muscle I have managed to coax onto my arm (after much time and hard work, thank you very much).

She giggles, then covers her mouth. "I'm sorry. It's just that, you're too beautiful to be fat."

"So are you," I snap. Wait, that came out wrong. I hope she doesn't think I was trying to flirt.

Again with the blushing. I'm surprised this girl's face hasn't burned off by now. "What's your name, anyway?" I ask.

"M-Motoko. Minagawa."

"Motoko, then." I am the Great Akito. I use honorifics for no one. "Look me in the eyes and smile."

Her eyes, which have been avoiding me all this time, snap directly to mine in surprise. I smile encouragingly at her, and she smiles back automatically.

"That's better. All that blushing and giggling and stuttering and looking anywhere but me was really getting on my nerves." Real smooth, Akito. It's like I've been taking dating lessons from Kyo.

She takes a deep breath, then stands up and looks down into my face. I frown, not liking her above me.

"I can't understand it," she says. "In some ways you are so much like him, but in other ways you are different."

"Right. And you were expecting me to be a Yuki-clone, is that it? How close were you to Yuki, anyway? If you were one of his friends, how come I never heard about it?" Shut up, Aki. Don't let strangers know that you used to be a possessive jerk.

"I was--! I was..." She trails off.

"Oh, I get it. You must have been one of the drooling admirers. The kind who sneaks anonymous chocolate into his locker on Valentine's Day, and takes tons of pictures of him without his knowledge, and has dozens of diaries all filled with his name." Yuki has never told me any of this, but I can guess.

Her face floods with anger, causing my heart to leap with excitement - I haven't pushed anyone like this in so long. I try not to be happy about what I've done, but I can't help it. I love riling people up.

"How dare you? You don't even know me!"

_'Be nice, Aki, choke down those words you want so badly to say, be apologetic...'_ Oooh, but I know exactly what buttons to press, it's so tempting! If I could just point out that she didn't actually deny being a fangirl--

Kyo's words come back to me. _"It's like training, you know? The more you practice, the easier it gets. Here, try complimenting me, just for kicks."_

_"Hm. Your hair is the color of a delicious orange, and I want to eat you."_

_"THAT'S NOT WHAT I MEANT!"_

I smile at the memory, then keep smiling for Motoko's sake. "I'm sorry." Oh, what the heck. I lower my voice and turn it silky. That much I can still do, at least. "That was very presumptuous of me. Will you forgive me, Minagawa-san?"

She looks away, not smiling. "I suppose so."

I take her hand delicately and raise it to my lips. Girls love this. Then I smile into her astonished face and stand up with all the grace I can muster. "I'm sorry, Minagawa-san, but I must be going." Too bad I'm as lost as Hatsuharu, but at least she doesn't know that. "It was a pleasure meeting you."

I start to walk away. Her voice suddenly calls out behind me.

"Wait!"

I turn back and raise an eyebrow.

"You...Sohma-san...you can call me by my name."

Oh, I'm thrilled. Like I'm ever going to see you again. "As you wish, Motoko." Go on, say it, you'll never see her again, anyway. "Feel free to call me by my name as well."

"All right...Akito-kun..." I can _see_ her taste my name as it crosses her tongue. A little shiver of disgust runs up my spine, but I hide it as well as I can. I leave.

_to be continued..._


	4. Part 4: Motoko

_Stuck-up Beauty, Reformed Beast_, by Raberba girl

**Part 4 (Motoko)**

I collapse back onto the bench. Akito Sohma...he looks so much like _him_.

I grit my teeth in anger. I've spent the past year and a half trying to forget about Yuki, the angel who stole away my heart, my high grades, and most of my intelligence in high school.

I wasted so much of my _life_ on him, so much time and effort and money...those two years are hazy in my memory, just a big cloud of Yuki. Trailing Yuki, organizing his fanclub, dreaming about Yuki, making and collecting every kind of Yuki-related object I could think of. Driving myself crazy-jealous over girls who seemed to get closer to Yuki than I could.

It was insane. I realized that a few months into college. One day I just looked at all my Yuki stuff, and I thought to myself, _'I am never going to see this boy again. I've spoken to him twice in my entire life. He smiles at girls like Tohru Honda and her friends, and hangs out with them constantly, and all he could ever spare for me was a few moments of sympathy.'_

With those disturbing thoughts in mind, I had gotten out all my old journals, but could only make it through a few pages before I had to stop reading. It was disgusting. And heartbreaking, in a way. It was like my entire world had revolved around this boy, and it scared me when I realized that if Yuki was taken away, there wouldn't be much left.

I didn't like that feeling of being so aimless if left on my own.

I ended up burning all my journals and giving the rest of the stuff to Minami.

Now here I am. I thought I'd gotten over it. I thought I'd managed to turn Yuki into a fond high school memory, nothing more. Yet where was it I had run to when I was upset? The school where I met him. How come my heart is beating so fast, and my thoughts are racing? Because just now I met a boy, a man, who looks just like Yuki, even acts like him sometimes (that smile...so cold and yet so alluring). And what are the odds that he had to be related to _my_ Yuki Sohma...

I rub at my face, trying to erode the image in my head of soft hair, dark eyes. Come on, Motoko, get over this. Don't start a new obsession. You'll just break your heart again.

_'I've got to find out where he lives, at least. I can catch him if I hurry!'_

O traitorous thoughts. I'm up and running before I can hesitate. There he is, just past the gate. I'd better slow down, I don't want him to see me.

He stops and watches a man cross the street, along with two boys that I recognize as Yuki's cousins. The four of them stand together and talk for a few minutes, and then they move away.

I follow at a distance.

_to be continued..._


	5. Part 5: Akito

_Stuck-up Beauty, Reformed Beast_, by Raberba girl

**Part 5 (Akito)**

"Akiiiii!"

I stop at the sound of the familiar voice, trembling with relief. Wordless happy thoughts gush through my head. I didn't realize I was _that_ worried about being lost.

Momiji of the Yellow Hair bounds across the street and throws his arms around me. He's almost as tall as me now, though he looks and dresses like a sixth-grader. "Aki-_to_," he pouts, "why'd you run away? We were worried!"

"Yeah, you jerk," Kyo says as he comes up. "What were you trying to do, _intentionally_ get into a mess without anyone to bail you out?"

"I'm not that stupid," I grumble. I make a vague, hesitating gesture, and he puts his hand on my shoulder. It rests there, heavy and comforting. "I just wanted...out, for a little bit," I mutter.

"Humph. Idiot." But he squeezes my shoulder and I look up into his eyes, and I see that he understands.

I turn to Hatori, who is gazing at me with disapproval. "So," I say to him, "get it over with, chew me out."

He shrugs. "I'm not in the mood to lose my other eye."

"Shut up," I say. I am trying to act cool, but it's hard to keep the sudden tears back. What I did, back then...I feel worse about it now than I did at the time, but Hatori long ago reached the point where he could accept what happened, and it doesn't bother him anymore.

I wish I could be that strong.

"Just don't do it again," Hatori continues. "At least not until I get you a cell phone."

We head back down the street together, and Kyo pulls out his cell phone to call someone. "Hey, Kagura. Yeah. Yeah, we found him. He's in several pieces at the moment, spurting blood all over my shoes; seems he had a seizure in the middle of the street and got hit by a rogue tow truck-- I was joking! _Joking_, Kagura, calm down! He's fine. Wait." Kyo cocks an eyebrow at me. "_Are_ you fine?"

"Tell her I played DDR. Almost. And ate ice cream."

"He's _peachy_, Kagura," Kyo says into the phone. He is giving me an incredulous look as he does so. "Hey, I have to go; love you, talk to you later, bye." He hangs up hurriedly, cutting off the stream of irritated, anxious yelling from the other end.

"Did you really play DDR, Akito?" Momiji asks in amazement.

"No. I was thinking about it, though."

"You should have," Hatori says. "Shigure is running out of things to tease you about."

"Yeah, the telephone pole incident is old news," Kyo says.

I glare at him, but the gesture is somewhat spoiled because I'm blushing almost as badly as that Motoko girl. "It's not _my_ fault they decided to plant a post there, stupid cat."

I've been making Hatori teach me how to drive. Oddly enough, I'm not very good...the steering wheel always tends to wander in the wrong direction, and that stupid telephone pole wasn't the first thing I've crashed into. It was just the first thing that anyone besides Hatori found out about. But still, learning how to drive is fun. Frustrating, but fun. I am now eager to have new experiences and learn how to do new things.

We walk for a long time, and I tell them a little about Motoko. Kyo faintly remembers her as an obsessed fangirl who used to worship Yuki. She was the kind of girl Kyo never paid attention to, so he doesn't know much about her.

"Hatori," I say after a while, "Momiji looks pretty tired to me. I think we should rest, you know, for his sake."

"What are you talking about, Akito?" Kyo says, playing dumb. "Momiji's just as annoyingly energetic as always."

"Yeah, I feel so cheerful now, after finding you safe and sound!" Momiji laughs, playing along. "I could almost dance for joy!"

I could throttle them. They're doing it on _purpose_.

"What do you think, Hatori," I try again. "Doesn't the sky seem to be clouding up to you? How awful for Kyo, you know how listless he gets in bad weather. We ought to stop, give him a chance to regain his strength."

"It's strange, Akito," Hatori says with a straight face, "that you should think so. All I see is sunshine beaming out of a cloudless sky."

"Ugh!" I sit down, right there on the sidewalk. "I give up. I'm tired, okay?"

"Heh," Kyo says, with a glint in his eye. "_Akito-sama_ has finally swallowed his pride and admitted weakness."

I hold up my arms. "Carry me, Kyo."

"No way!"

They let me rest for a bit, then we keep walking. Hatori keeps getting phone calls from various Sohmas, all asking after me. I'm almost embarrassed - I didn't know I had worried _that_ many people by running off on my own.

At one point, Kyo turns off onto a different street; now that I've been found, he doesn't have much use to stick around. I don't mind him leaving, because he visits so often. I never realized until a few months ago what a good friend Kyo can be. He's always pushing me to do things when I get lazy or discouraged.

When we get to the Estate, worried servants and family members crowd around me. I look down and mumble a lot, apologies mostly, and they gush over how worried they were and if I'm all right. It would annoy me exceedingly, if I didn't know how sincere they are. Hatori finally clears them away from me and leads me silently back to the main house.

"Are you mad at me, Hatori?" I ask softly.

He takes his time before answering. "There was no sign of you. We looked everywhere, you were gone. I couldn't think what had possibly happened to you. You never told anyone, you didn't give any warning, you just _disappeared_." He stops, then turns to look me in the eye. "When something like that happens, you know, all sorts of horrible scenarios begin to run through your head."

My head is hanging. I don't feel any urge to lift it. "I'm sorry." I can just imagine what they might have thought. Akito kidnapped by thugs who are after the family fortune; Akito getting lost, unable to look after himself; Akito collapsing in the street because there was no one around to recognize the warning signs.

_'Where's Akito?'_ I imagine them saying, _'Is it possible he's not in the Estate? He didn't tell anybody where he went? Call Kyo, Momiji, Shigure; someone's got to know! I swear I will KILL that stupid kid when he comes waltzing back unharmed, no doubt with that smug smile on his face!'_ And all the while tense nerves, pounding heart, stinging eyes, choked with the suffering you can only experience when your terror is for someone you love.

There is a light touch beneath my chin. I look up in surprise, and Hatori withdraws his fingers, smiling a little. "Two years ago, you refused to step outside. Only in emergencies would you even permit someone to drive you somewhere." He pauses. "You've come a long way. I'm proud of you." My breath catches. "Just remember the rest of us, okay? You're not the only one traveling this road."

"How could I forget?" I whisper.

Hatori puts a light hand on my shoulder and guides me inside.

"Akito-san!"

I jerk to a stop in surprise. I wasn't expecting her. Stupid of me, now that I think.

She runs up to me and takes my hands. "Akito-san, are you all right? We-- I was so worried, when I heard you were gone!"

Seeing as I've heard this a million times already today, from nearly every other member of my family, I _should_ be getting annoyed by this. But I can't. I look into those worried brown eyes, and I try to smile.

"I'm all right, Tohru. Thank you for caring about me."

Her hastily-corrected "we" was not lost on me. I'm afraid to look up, but I can't help it. I raise my head and meet the violet gaze that's been scorching me from across the room. "Yuki," I whisper. He's leaning against the wall with folded arms, looking as if he'd rather be anywhere than here. "I'm...glad you came."

"Wasn't my idea," he says flatly. Tohru blushes.

I mean to speak to him again, but one of the servants comes up with an urgent look on his face.

"Akito-sama!"

I turn to him. "What is it?"

"We're having a slight problem at the front gate - there is a girl who's trying to get in, making a big fuss."

I frown. "A girl?"

"Seducing innocent young maidens again, Akito?" Yuki says scathingly. "I thought you said you'd given up all that."

I am incapable of responding civilly, so I refuse to answer at all. I speak to the servant instead. "Find out her name and what she wants."

"She says her name is Minagawa, sir, but she clams up when we try to ask her what she wants."

"Minagawa?" Yuki says suspiciously.

"Bring her here, if she'll come," I say to the servant. "If she won't, just send her away." Why in the world is the fangirl here? Oh, smashing, don't tell me she followed me. I could do without a stalker. Years ago I would have had fun playing with someone like her, but it's boring when I have to be nice.

"_Motoko_ Minagawa?" Yuki persists.

"YES, Yuki." The look he is giving me sends color creeping across my cheeks. "It's not like I'm going to _eat_ her, Yuki. I just met her today. _She_ followed me, _I_ never planned on seeing her again."

A smirk suddenly curves his mouth. "You're flustered."

My hands jerk in a furious gesture. Clamping my teeth together to hold back the angry words, I whirl around and march out, unable to stay in the same room with that arrogant Rat any longer. I'm so angry that I am not exactly looking to see if anyone is about to enter at the same moment.

THUD

"Ow!" Motoko cries. As for light-as-a-feather me, the force of the impact bounces me to the floor. Lovely. Right in front of sweet Yuki.

"Akito-san, are you all right?" Tohru exclaims.

"No. I think I dislocated some vital organs," I grumble.

"EH?!?!"

"It's a joke, Tohru-kun," Yuki says gently. The soft look on his face makes me sick with jealousy. He's _never_ looked at me that way...not that I can blame him. Much.

The servants who escorted Motoko try to help me up, but one shame-fueled glare from me is all it takes to make them back off. I have no such defense against Tohru, however, and before I know it she's taken my arm and pulled me to my feet. I return Tohru's sunny smile with a weak one of my own, then straighten my clothes and turn to Motoko.

She's staring at Yuki with the same look on her face that she had when she first saw me. Only it's magnified about ten times.

"Minagawa-san," he says politely. The smile he offers her is that creepy nice one he uses for strangers. Very unlike the smirky one he uses for Kyo and me, or the gentle sweet one he uses for Tohru.

"What an unexpected and meeting. I hope my cousin hasn't given you any trouble." He means me. We're not cousins, exactly, but the relationships between most of us Sohmas are so complicated that we usually stick to the easiest term.

Motoko emits a noise that I believe might have been Yuki's hopelessly mangled name.

"Ah, Minagawa-san!" Tohru says with awkward happiness. Tohru is the only person I know who can do that and still look cute. "How nice to see you, after so long!"

Motoko turns to Tohru, and her eyes widen with horror. "Witch," she says, quietly but clearly. From the look on her face, I don't think she intended to say that out loud. "I-I mean, uh, H-Honda..." Her eyes are darting around the room, as if she's expecting to be ambushed.

I have never met a person with clumsier speech. Suddenly I start laughing. "You poor little girl. No wonder you never snagged Yuki."

Motoko suddenly rounds on me. Her cheeks are flaming, but so are her eyes. Something inside me lights up - this girl has caught my interest at last.

"How dare you speak to me that way? You are such a jerk! Always _looking_ at me with those eyes and that smug SMILE! Like you think you're so much better than me!" She's drawn herself up to her full height and is standing aggressively, with her hands clenched and her face angry.

I stand staring at her, not bothering to hide my admiration. She's gorgeous.

"How do you know anything about me and Yuki? I, Motoko Minagawa, will not stand for this treatment! From now on I will have absolutely nothing to do with you, Akito Sohma!"

Oh my, such a loss.

Is that sarcastic? Not sure. Doesn't matter.

Lovely Motoko is glaring at me, waiting for my response. So I grin my most suggestive grin and lick my lips.

She looks enraged. I'm enchanted - that face, and the hair, it reminds me of Kyo. She raises a hand to slap me, but all of a sudden Yuki is there, holding her back. His hand on hers is elegant, he could be escorting her somewhere instead of restraining her.

"I'm sorry, Minagawa-san," he says charmingly. "I am afraid that Akito is the head of our family, and it would be improper for you to strike him." His eyes slide toward me and he adds in a mutter that only I am meant to hear, "Much as I would like you to."

Motoko seems to melt in Yuki's arms, and her attractiveness fades.

"Oh...head of the family, did you say?" she simpers, probably not even paying attention to what she's saying. "I'd better behave, then...Yuki, why is Tohru Honda here...?" The dopey look in her eyes is nauseating.

Yuki delicately releases her and steps back toward Tohru. He lays a hand on her shoulder, as Tohru blushes cutely.

"Minagawa-san, Tohru-kun is my fiancé. I don't know if you heard," he adds politely.

Motoko looks as if her own mother has just slung her into a Bottomless Pit of Doom.

Without a word, she whirls around and runs out of the room.

_to be continued..._

Author's Note: At the time I wrote this, it was still not definite in the manga whom the main characters end up with. Since my other major Fruits Basket fic features Kyoru, I decided to change things up and, against my preferences, make the couples Kyogura and Yukiru. Oh well; this fic was an already an alternate universe to start with.


	6. Part 6: Motoko

_Stuck-up Beauty, Reformed Beast_, by Raberba girl

**Part 6 (Motoko)**

YukiYukiYukiYuki!!!!!!

My thoughts are swirling with him, I feel breathless and giddy, my eyes ACHE from wanting to gaze at his loveliness forever and ever.

I thought I was _over_ him! I thought I decided that he wasn't _worth_ all this emotional wringing I'm putting myself through!

The memory of Tohru Honda comes back to me, and angry tears sting at my eyes and run down my cheeks. That witch, she cast a spell on Yuki and now he's going to be chained to her forever.

It isn't _fair_...it isn't FAIR! Who's the one who spent countless hours worshipping every detail of him? Who's the one who founded his adoring fanclub? Who's the one who spent nearly every waking moment in high school dedicating herself to honoring him and protecting him? Me! What did Honda ever do for him? Blink those big stupid eyes at him and look cute? Does she even _understand_ that Prince Yuki must be treated with perfect reverence?

Why did he choose her over me?

I scream and kick at the pavement. I hate Yuki. I HATE that rat Yuki, with his mocking smile and his cold heart. He never deserved all the love I lavished on him - he's no prince. He's a shallow jerk who's incapable of understanding me at all.

Why, oh why did he choose her...

I fall to my knees on the sidewalk and beat my fists against the ground. Hate, hate him, hate her, _hate_, _HATE_...

My heart is breaking.

Someone's laughing.

Still on the ground, I scramble around in shock, embarrassment, and outrage. Who's watching me and laughing?

Oh! That - evil - GUY! The beautiful one who looks like Yuki - the one who _ate my ice cream_, who keeps smiling at me like he has read my soul and finds what he sees pitiful, and _amusing_. I hate him, too! So condescending, so _tolerant_, like he's doing me a favor just by hanging around.

"Go away!" I screech. "My world has just broken to pieces, and I don't need YOU to come grind the shards underfoot!"

"You're so awkward and passionate," he says. "Like Tohru. Only, _you_ make me laugh. _She_ just makes me want to be a better person, and I hate that." Is that an admiring glint in his eye? Oh, he makes me so mad!

"I don't want to have anything to do with you or your wretched family ever agai--"

I blink. He's holding his hand out to me.

"Be gentle," he says. "I'll keel over if you pull too hard."

I stand up, pointedly ignoring his hand.

He shrugs. "Or you can correctly assess that I'm a weakling, and stand up without any help."

"Why are you here, anyway?" I snap.

He makes his voice high-pitched and girly. _"Oooh, Akito-san, mebbe you should go _after _her, she looked _up-set_--"_ He switches his voice to an icky snide tone. _"Yes, you've changed _such_ a lot, dear Akito, making girls cry and all..."_ He shakes his head. "Sorry," he says in his normal voice. "But they annoy me sometimes, even if they mean well. Tohru means well, anyway."

I have had enough. I turn to walk away, but he _follows_ me.

"What are you, some stray dog?" He mumbles something that sounds like, _"No, that's Shigure."_ Huh? Whatever. "I'm not taking you home, you stalker!"

"Who's the stalker?" he says sharply. "Who showed up at who's house, demanding to be let in?"

I whirl on him. He has a point, but why does he have to be so rude about it? "Don't you get it? We're finished! Just leave me alone, and I'll leave you alone, and we'll never see each other again and we'll both be FINE!"

He suddenly reaches out and brushes my cheek with his fingers. His touch seems to spread through me, and I can only stand and stare at him.

"I'm going about this all wrong," he says. His eyes are serious, and he is not smiling anymore, which is a relief. "I came out to say that I'm sorry. I'm sorry for...that you had to see Yuki again." Then the corner of his mouth quirks. "Sorry that I'm not Yuki. I wish your impression of my home had been a more pleasant one."

His fingers are still on my face. He suddenly takes hold of my chin, pulls me close, and kisses me. I can tell he's never done this before. The realization chills and charms me at the same time.

He moves back a little, and his eyes are soft and wide with wonder. "Very nice. I don't think I would mind running into you again, you fascinating, highly excitable little stalker-girl."

Of all the cheek!

_to be continued..._


	7. Part 7: Akito

_Stuck-up Beauty, Reformed Beast_, by Raberba girl

**Part 7 (Akito)**

I'm lying on my stomach on the floor, absently stroking Horatio and Fortinbras with one finger. Fort simply ignores me and keeps pecking at the small pile of birdseed I've scattered for them; Horatio keeps hopping away irritably, then hopping back for the food, then stabbing at my hand when I reach for him again. He's the easiest to tease (reminds me of Kyo), but I like him best 'cause he keeps sticking around.

The jabs of pain in my hand don't bother me much, though. I'm thinking about that kiss...and the lovely girl who gave me such a shocked, disdainful look afterward, and marched away without a glance back. Bratty little chick, but she's caught my interest. I love those _passions_ she flies into, made so much more effective by her usual laughable composure.

The door suddenly slides open, and I just have time to register the sound of running footsteps before someone slams, gently but not gently enough, on top of me.

"Oof!"

"I loooove you!" Momiji flings his arms around my neck and starts strangling me, disguising it as a hug.

"Get OFF me!" I yell. I mean to say more, but my lungs are crushed and my windpipe is squeezed shut. (I am exaggerating. Not much.)

Momiji laughs, lets go, and climbs off my back. I groan and try to roll over, but it takes me a while.

"Akito, what are you doing?"

"I _was_ playing with the birds," I growl, "until something large and loud lumbered in and scared them off."

Momiji giggles as I gesture at Horatio, who's flitted up to one of the rafters. I don't see Fort; he must have been scared outside by Momiji's attack.

Momiji cuddles up to me, one of his disconcerting little habits that I have yet to get used to. "Aki, are you glad to see me?"

I grasp clumps of his golden-yellow hair in each hand, lift them up, and wag them back and forth. "You are a little piece of sunshine that has tumbled into my den of loneliness and horror."

"Oooh, pretty! You should be a writer, Akito!"

Why not. "Once upon a time, there was a bunny."

"Yay!"

"This bunny...ah..." Inspiration has left me. Not that it ever decided to visit me in the first place. "There was also a skinny little bird, and it fell in love with a radish and married it and lived happily ever after."

"Akito, maybe you should leave the writing to Shigure after all."

"Shut up," I tell him with a straight face. "Don't you dare shoot down my dreams of writing the next literary classic."

Momiji suddenly sits up, and looks at me with serious brown eyes. "Hey, Akito, vacation's gonna be over soon."

"Huh?" Momiji is not usually so random when changing the subject. I sit up as well, and look at him in confusion.

"If you're going to do anything about it, you ought to make your move before she goes back to school."

"What are you talking about?" I think I know. Who does he think he is, trying to play matchmaker?

Momiji makes a kissy face. "'Toko-chan."

_"'Toko-chan?"_

"I think it has a nice ring to it, don't you?"

"Of course not!"

Momiji reaches out and gently brushes his finger against my lips. I shiver. He smiles.

"You're thinking about her right now," he says.

"I am not."

"Of course you are. Go take her on a date, Akito."

"Oh, for the love of-- I don't even know where she _lives_, Momiji."

"I bet Tohru does, or Yuki, or both."

"But," I try again, "I just barely met the girl. She's clumsy, stupid, self-conscious, tongue-tied--"

"Beautiful, loyal, passionate," Momiji continues. He smiles at me. "I know the signs of a crush, Akito. Go for it. Why not?"

Why not? I ponder the idea. Taking a girl out on a date... Well, why shouldn't I? Haven't I been working for a year to become a normal person?

Momiji laughs and jumps to his feet. "Come on, Akito--" I love how he says my name, very clippy and cute, "--let's get you to Aya, so he can make you some nice clothes."

"You call this not-nice?" I say indignantly, rubbing the fine, expensive silk of my outer robe between two fingers.

"_Normal_ clothes," Momiji amends. He grins. "I'll come along and make sure he doesn't give you anything _too_ outrageous."

"As if your clothes weren't almost as outrageous!" Momiji always dresses like a character from that cartoon Kisa always watches, Card-catching Sakura or something.

Momiji smiles at me with mock-reassurance, and I smile back.

Sometimes I love being a good guy.

_to be continued..._


	8. Part 8: Motoko

_Stuck-up Beauty, Reformed Beast_, by Raberba girl

**Part 8 (Motoko)**

"Motoko! Where are you going?"

"I'm going on a DATE, Mother!" I scream. Just the _sound_ of her voice cranks my irritability meter all the way up to ten. Mother storms into the front hallway, and I force myself to be poised. "So," I continue calmly and haughtily, "I won't be around for dinner. Have fun without me."

"You're supposed to tell people when you're going to do things like that, Motoko! By the way, you look beautiful."

I smile. I know I do. My clothes accent my figure perfectly, and they strike a good balance between attractive-sexy and attractive-nice. My hair and make-up are perfect, everything is perfect.

"Too bad you're going to waste those good looks on some bum you found on the street."

"Moth_er_! How could you?!"

I am already irritated enough by the way _he_ managed to dupe me into this stupid date. First he shows up, all flowery and apologetic and beautiful, and it turns out the witch and that two-timing rat gave him my address, and...and...

He looks so much like Yuki it hurts.

He _played_ on my old feelings for Yuki. I could kill him.

So why am I going to the movies with him instead?

The doorbell rings. Mother moves to get it, but I am faster. I would prefer to play coy girl-games, but I would be so ashamed for that jerk with the looks of an angel to see my mother's ugly face.

"Mother," I hiss, "get back in the kitchen."

"Why shouldn't I see your new toy?" Mother says indignantly.

"My _what_?"

"I'm still your mother, after all, and I have the right to send him packing if he doesn't meet my approval."

"I'm in COLLEGE! I'm an ADULT! I can make my own decisions!"

That's about when the knocking starts, very irregular, as if whoever is knocking is bored and is trying to amuse himself by tapping out the notes to a song. I angrily rip open the door and there he is, with a handsome dark stranger standing behind him.

Aki-jerk smiles at me. "Hello, Motoko. You look lovely. I will do my best to keep you angry tonight, so as not to lose the effect."

"Shut up!" I fling the door wide open and whirl around to face Mother. "There, Mother! There's my bum off the street!"

"Ah." I am horrified to discover that she is smitten. "You're wrong, he's a prince. Don't trust him, Motoko, he probably means to carry you off as a spoil of war."

His eyes are widening, and that horrible admiring look is creeping across his face. "Actually, I'm not as polite when I'm making a conquest."

I can't stand this. My mother and my horrible date are practically _flirting_ with each other, each in their own special twisted way. I slam the door shut and push past him and his friend. Then I stop when I see the car.

_'Oooh...very nice...I WANT this car.'_ I turn to Akito in amazement. "You actually drive this thing?"

"Only into telephone poles," he laughs. "No, that's what Ha'ri is for." He points at his tall-dark-mysterious friend.

I cannot believe what I'm hearing. "You mean you're not even _driving_ us? You're bringing a _baby-sitter_ on a date?!"

He leans his head on Tall-Dark-Handsome's shoulder and smiles. "Yes. Isn't he cute?"

"No. No! I refuse! I'm not fourteen years old anymore, I won't be accompanied everywhere I go!"

"You hear that, Hatori?" Akito turns to his friend, his eyes shining happily. "She won't be accompanied everywhere she goes."

"You were right," Ha'ri (Hatori?) says in a quiet, sexy voice (why didn't _he_ eat my ice cream?). "She is like you."

"I'm driving! Let's go, Akito, and get it over with." No way I'm going to waste perfectly good honorifics on him.

Akito nods to Hatori and follows me to the garage. Hatori knocks on the front door again - I suppose he plans to kill time here and chat with Mother or something until he has to drive his baby home.

I fume all the way to the theater and during the first fifteen minutes or so of the film. My wonderful date is acting crazy: choking on popcorn, laughing at the taste of soda, wondering out loud why the screen needs to be so big. It's like this guy has never seen a movie before.

I sink into the seat and pretend I don't know him. I don't think it's working, especially when he turns to me and says that I am the most beautiful girl in the world.

I could die of embarrassment.

It's a pretty good movie, though. A lot of parts make me laugh, yet it's still intense enough that even Akito gets sucked in and is able to watch quietly and attentively after a while.

When the credits start rolling, Akito leans back in his seat and sighs. I look at him, and am alarmingly charmed to see such a calm, happy expression on his face.

"That was good," he says softly. "I want to do that more often."

"Do what?" I ask, confused.

"Do _this_. See a movie."

"How often do you go out?" I ask, annoyed. He's acting like this is his first time seeing a movie or something.

He is silent for a moment. The lights have come on, and people are drifting up the aisles out of the theater.

"I think you would be surprised to find out how many things I haven't done before, or have not done often." He is not looking at me, but watching the screen. I gaze at him, unsettled. What is it about this guy? Suddenly he's gone all vulnerable, making me feel protective. How stupid.

"I thought you said you didn't have a girlfriend."

We both look up. Some girl is standing in the aisle near Akito, looking at him with a miffed smile.

Akito looks at her. "I never said I didn't have a girlfriend," he answers finally. "Though I admit I didn't have one when I talked to you."

I stand up, jealous. "Who are you?" I ask the girl.

_to be concluded..._


	9. Part 9: Akito

_Stuck-up Beauty, Reformed Beast_, by Raberba girl

**Part 9 (Akito)**

Don't get me wrong, I _have_ seen movies before. Just not many of them, and never in a theater. It was always too much trouble to find a day when I felt well enough to ride in the car _and_ sit still in the dark for two hours, with people and the smell of movie-food filling the place. This time...I don't know, I must be getting used to mingling with strangers.

I never used to read much or watch movies, or get involved with a story about anyone other than me and the people I cared about. My own life was always so full of miserable excitement and angst for me to care about others' misery and angst.

But now...there's something fascinating about losing yourself in another person's story. Experiencing things you never would in your ordinary life, seeing things from a completely different perspective. It's mind-opening. It's a rush, it's frightening, and I am discovering that I love it. It's almost like the experience of listening to other people talk about themselves, even something as mundane as how their day went.

It sounds strange, but the realization never really _hit_ me before that other people actually have full lives that don't have anything to do with me. It's so strange to sit and listen to Momiji or Kyo or Ayame, telling me about their day, and many times they don't even mention me. Momiji's violin practice, Kyo's last date with Kagura, how Ayame's store is doing...

It makes me sad to think how much I was missing out on all these years. I could cry at the utter waste the majority of my life has been, if I wasn't so determined to make sure that the rest of my life is completely different.

Anyway, the DDR girl is back. She looks annoyed. No doubt she'd claimed me as mine in her head, and then she walks in now-- it _hurts_ her that I've got another girl. Why am I feeling bad about this? Yay, progress. I'm thrilled.

Great, now Motoko's getting jealous. Am I really that valuable to them?

"I don't see why you need to know who I am," DDR girl answers Motoko coolly. Come to think of it, I never asked her name. She turns to me. "Hey, beautiful. I don't know what your deal is, but you're a special person. I wish I'd gotten to you first, but-- Don't waste it, what you've got."

I feel breathless and weepy. I don't know if she just complimented me or not, but something about her words touched me. This girl has met me only once before, and already she recognizes a worth in me that I wasn't even sure of myself.

"Thank you," I whisper.

She nods at me. Then she walks away.

"You two-timer! You're just like _him_!"

I turn to find Motoko staring at me with fury and hurt in her eyes.

"You...leading me on, when really it was-- someone _else_ you cared for all this time."

She's going to cry. I'm going to cry, too. Marvelous. The theater's almost empty by now.

"Motoko, I don't even know that girl's name."

"That's even worse!"

"What I _meant_ was, she's just some random person I met in an arcade. We barely even talked. I don't care about her."

'Toko-chan doesn't believe me, I can tell. She's silent and still, with her lips pressed together and her face turning pink, like she's holding things back, and I know that if I do not recapture her now she will be lost to me forever.

And that thought disturbs me more than I like to think about.

"Motoko," I whisper, desperately calling on every ounce of grace, beauty, and command that I possess. "I've never felt about anyone the way I feel about you." Good, Aki, keep up the good sap. "You...you're so intense, so passionate. I'm like a man of snow only learning how to live again - you shine so brightly, and I don't think I could live without your warmth." Hm, that was a bit _too_ over-the-top, but I can't take it back now.

She's not responding.

Think, think, think, Aki.

Very cautiously, I touch her chin, trying to get her eyes to meet mine. She jerks back, but at least she's facing me squarely now. "I know...that you've been hurt," I say with careful awkwardness. "I'm sorry about that, Motoko. And I'm just learning how to do this relationship thing. But please, please don't walk away from me? Just give me a chance. We don't have to get serious right away or anything, but please don't dismiss me."

She looks away from me again. I see her draw in a breath, then let it out slowly. Theater employees are going around, sweeping up fallen bits of popcorn.

"I put my whole life into Yuki," she finally whispers. "I _worshipped_ him. And I shouldn't have. It was such a _waste_, in the end." A pang goes through me. She's experienced the same feeling I have.

I smile gently at her. Not teasing; I'm trying to look as understanding as I can. "You don't have to make the same mistake again. I'm not asking for your worship - all I want is for you to be my friend." She raises her eyebrow, and I chuckle. "And maybe, later on, my girlfriend. I just don't want to lose you."

The employees are beginning to hover with polite, anxious expressions, but there's no way we are going to leave and break this moment.

"Akito, I--" She looks at the floor. "The truth is, I...I really like you, Akito."

_"Come on, Akito, what're you gonna do when a girl tells you someday that she likes you?"_

_"How insane and/or stupid would this girl have to be?"_

_"Very much both ways, but that's not the point."_

Kyo _knew_, when we had that conversation. He knew, somehow, that this day would come. Kyo is a genius, and I must tell him so later.

"I liked you from the moment I saw you, but I was too afraid...you'd turn out to be-- not what I expected."

"Well, did I?"

She looks up at me and smiles. "No, you're not what I expected. And I'm glad."

"Kiss me again, Motoko."

"Why?"

"Because I have had only one kiss in my entire life, and I need more practice."

"You're not very romantic. But you're gorgeous enough to make up for it, so come here." She pulls my face close to hers, and the next few minutes are sweet.

A/N: Again, this fic was written before Akito's Secret came out. I am (now) fully aware of what Aki's love life is _really_ like. I respectfully lay all blame on Natsuki Takaya (for taking so long to finish the series!).

**Epilogue (Neither)**

"Akito, why do you _want_ to meet The Hag?"

"Is that what you call her?"

"Well, she IS!" Motoko parked, and the two of them got out of the car and walked to the Minagawa house. "She's hideous and whiny and nagging and I hate her!"

"She's the reason we met, my sweet angel."

"You've already had one awful glimpse of her, why can't you just spare yourself and leave it at that?"

"Motoko, I WANT to be properly introduced to your mother. Indulge me."

Motoko ripped open the door. "Mom, I'm home!" she screamed.

"About time!" came the gravelly voice from the kitchen. "You barely even call me anymore! I'm sick of you always lollygagging off with that wispy girly Akio creature!"

"It's AkiTO!" Motoko yelled. "And he's standing right HERE, Mom! Shut up and stop embarrassing yourself!"

The old woman came out of the kitchen, glaring as if she meant to take on the world single-handedly.

"So! You've been dating my daughter for months now, you sickly thing. Have you done anything improper towards her yet?"

"I have not, esteemed lady." Akito's manner was courteous, and his eyes full of admiration. "And I have been working out, you know."

"Let me see your muscles, then."

"Mo_ther_!" Motoko wailed in embarrassment, but Akito obligingly rolled up his sleeve and flexed.

"Pitiful!"

"I know," he said humbly.

"I have no use for a weakling son-in-law!"

"I'm learning how to cook," he offered.

"Feh!"

"Perhaps if _you_ teach me, I will get better."

"Men are idiots in the kitchen."

"Madam, I am filthy rich. Does that, at least, redeem me somewhat in your eyes?"

Motoko put her face in her hands. Her mother eyed Akito greedily.

"Come here, young man, into the kitchen. Wash your hands; we're going to make dinner." Motoko's mother marched back into the kitchen.

Akito turned to his girlfriend of four months, and smiled hugely. "Your mother is fantastic."

Motoko had no reply to that.


End file.
